Shahryar Nashat

High Definition Workers

High definition colour video, without sound, 20 min. 23 sec., 2024

IN ORDER TO COMMIT TO REDUCING OUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION TOGETHER, THE VIDEO WORKS OF THE MIRE PROGRAMME ARE BROADCAST ONLY DURING PEAK HOURS, FROM 7AM TO 9.30AM, FROM 12PM TO 2.30PM AND FROM 5.30PM TO 8PM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND HAVE A NICE TRIP.

High Definition Workers is based on three components: temporality, animality versus humanity, and the subliminal image that echoes consumer society. The artist based his work on the context of the exhibition, which is the Lancy-Pont-Rouge station. He wanted to produce a video that would capture the attention of passers-by while questioning the notion of time. To achieve this, he proposed a melting-pot of real and virtual images, which at first sight have no connection with each other. But on closer inspection, it seems that their weave is systematically revealed. The abstract images, whose raw material is digital, are composed of vivid, moving colours that are almost sensual. The real figures appear and disappear gradually, sometimes pixel by pixel, as if disrupting the transmission of the image. Several of the visual effects employed by the artist are reminiscent of radiological and thermal infrared images. The reference to this type of process and its inherent instability reveals the internal structure of the image. For the artist, the pixel is the ‘silent worker’ that enables the creation of any type of image. The change in image regime creates a rupture and a surprise for station users, who can the time to experience and observe the transition from the virtual to the real. The public’s perception is constantly challenged by High Definition Workers, a way for the artist to create a moment of reflection in a particular urban context.

Co-produced by the Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain and the Fonds d'art contemporain de la Ville de Genève for the Mire program